Alteryx, Bicycles and Teaching Kids Programming.

Changes and Thank you

In 1997 when Dean, Libby and myself founded SRC we had a 5 year plan. Little did we know that 5 years would bring 9/11, the dot com bust and some of the most difficult business times of our lifetime. By 2010 we had rebuilt and reimagined the company as Alteryx and are now 8 years into another 5 year plan. I have given my working life to this company and product called Alteryx and I am super proud of what we have created. But with so many 5 year plans come and gone, the time has come for me to move on to the next phase of my life. While I will no longer be working at Alteryx on a daily basis, I will be available as an advisor to the company and developers for the foreseeable future. I am proud to have earned the titles: “Co-Founder of Alteryx”, “Creator of the Alteryx Engine” and “Creator of the Alteryx Designer.” I will wear them with pride for the rest of my life. I consider myself extremely lucky and wish to thank everyone in the extended Alteryx community. So a huge thank you to everyone in the community and specifically to:

Co-Founders: I am lucky to have had the privilege to found this company (twice!) with Dean & Libby who have worked tirelessly to create something bigger than all of us. Thank you.

Investors: We have been very fortunate to have investors who believed in our vision. I think that we have built a foundation that will stand the test of time. Thank you.

Contributors to the product: I first want to thank Tara, Rob B and Linda. They were so instrumental to the creation of the product that it wouldn’t be the same without each of them. I also want to thank Adam, Amy, Ben, Chris K, Chris N, Dan, Darren, Gary, Jarrod, Josh, Kory, Kurt, Melissa, Nathalie, Rob M, Scott, Steve A. and many others who have helped in so many ways to make the product better. Thank you. There is a much larger list who are continuing to work on the product today. I hope everyone gets to know them in the future, because the product is in great hands and I am excited to see what they accomplish.

Contributors to the company: A product is worth exactly nothing without a great company behind it. Alteryx is a great company and has so many people that are passionate about serving customers, users and other employees. It has truly been a pleasure working with everyone. In specific I would like to thank Anna R, Chad, Grace, Jack, Keith, Kim, Lonny, Margarita, Margie, Maureen, Mike C, Paul, Reed, Rod, Seema, Wendy and many many others.

Users: Without users, there is no product. From before 1.0 to the present day, we have always had an amazing group of passionate users. At any given time, there has always been a few users that have had my direct phone number and have given me invaluable feedback and advice. Never once has anyone ever abused that privilege. I hesitate to name anyone because there are so many I can’t fit them here, but in specific I would like to thank Adam, Adrian, Andy, Cady, Chris L, Gary, James, Jim, Joe L, Joe M, John, Ken, Mark, Mike, Nathalie, Ron, Sean, Steve P., Todd and Tom.

The Alteryx Community: The community that all of you have built around Alteryx is amazing. Never in the history of software has there been such a vibrant community of amazingly nice and kind people. You guys are amazing. Thank you. Alteryx would never have made it without you.

My Family: Thank you to my parents for buying me that TRS-80 when I was 10 years old. I think we can say the investment finally paid off. Thank you to my 4 children for being on the ride with me. You make life interesting and worth living. And last, but very much not least, a huge thank you to Nathalie – you are the love of my life and I am so excited to be with you every day. I couldn’t have done it without you.

I am certain that I have forgotten many people that I individually want to thank – so many people have helped me along the way. So a huge thank you for reading and sharing this journey with me. I would love to hear from all of you. Reach out to me on social media or ned (at) inspiringingenuity (dot) net. And if you find yourself in Colorado, lets get together for a bike ride, hike or coffee.

Thank you,

Ned.

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12 thoughts on “Changes and Thank you”

Congratulations and best wishes. Alteryx is based on such a useful and well-thought-out engine. I’m sure more than a few budding techies have had similar flickering ideas, but only one saw a path to a concrete, performant and truly elegant reality *and* possessed the ability and wherewithal to walk that path. Thank you for being that one, and enjoy your well deserved break.

Hi Ned,
For all the Alteryx users that get to immensely enjoy our lives working with data because of you, I’d like to say “thank you very much”! The product you have created is ingenious and is deserving of some form of a lifetime achievement award. I’ll see you on the trails sometime soon.
Ken

Hi Ned,
As a past user of Alteryx at Experian, I can say that I enjoyed the things you and your team built – Alteryx, Alteryx Engine and and Alteryx Designer. I am glad I had chance to have dinner with you and team at Altreyx Inspire 2011. Not only you are great founder and creator but a very good human being. All the best for your new journey.
Thanks,
Neal

Amazing product, amazing people (colleagues and customers alike). I’ll remain forever grateful for my experiences at Alteryx. Thank you so much, Ned, and warmest and best wishes as you add a new chapter to your story!

Ned,
To say “Thank You” For creating such an amazing product would be underselling it. For me, your creation first gave me immense joy. From there, your creation led to an amazing job. That amazing job turned into an exciting career. That exciting career allowed me to purchase a wonderful home. That wonderful home gave me the space to start a beautiful family. And one of those beautiful family members just turned 2 on Friday. So….Just saying “thank you” doesn’t describe my gratitude; however, keeping secret your impact on my life would be criminal.
Thank you, Ned!

Ned,
I worked with you very shortly but, I am touched by your humble, smart and hard working nature, I will always remember taking part in step challenge with you. Wish you a good luck in next endeavor.

Hey Ned, just to say that I have a huge level of respect for you, what you have created and have really enjoyed to hear from you at the recent Inspire conferences. I am sorry to think that I might not hear from you at the future ones! But it’s been a privilege, so thank you and all the best for your next chapter. Best, Tom

Ned, I’ve read this now many times over and it brings me to tears every time. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to you for the opportunity to build this _____ (fill in the blank – product, technology, software, MOVEMENT). I’ve learned so much working along side of you and have been able to craft my very own career path around something that delivers so much value, enjoyment, empowerment, and connection to so many. Your dedication, insight, character, and ethics make Alteryx what it is – an all-inclusive, powerfully addictive program that makes us all better. Every time I place a tool on the canvas, each time I hit run, I learn something. Considering the billions of runs globally, that is an impact not many can claim. On a personal level, your compassion knows no bounds. Your patience and generosity have had far reaching effects on all our lives. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I’ll take that hike, bike ride, coffee anytime. Cheers to you. Enjoy.

Emotional reading this as well… The good handful of us that have been on this campaign from the beginning (or near it) most definitely have lifelong heartstrings. Thanks for sharing and what a great memoir.

Ned, thank you (and Libby and Dean) for having given me the opportunity to work with you and the Alteryx family for 14 years. It was an amazing experience and I very much enjoyed working with you and getting to know you better. You were a great colleague and a dear, thoughtful friend when I went through my fight with cancer. I absolutely love working with the Alteryx technology and am so happy to be able to use it as my main tool for my consulting practice. I can’t wait to hear what’s next for you and hope to be able to visit you and Nat sometime soon.
All the best!
Mo

Ned, I’m so glad I happened upon the opportunity to work at Alteryx and be a part of the team that saw your brainchild blossom into magnificence. I remember how excited I was when I first started working with it and how I loved telling everyone about all the cool things it could do, and how much I looked forward to designing engines with it. I’ve been using it for twelve years now, and I’m still enamored with it, and know that I have barely scratched the surface of everything it can do, and I still rave about it to anyone who will listen. I hope the next phase of your life goes wonderfully, and maybe I’ll bump into you and Nathalie around town!